Astros inching closer to a change in owners, leagues

The Astros are inching closer to a new era in ownership and league affiliation.

Prospective Astros owner Jim Crane and his group of investors have reached an agreement with Major League Baseball that would shift the franchise to the American League, two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed Friday.

One person familiar with the situation said the transfer of the team from Drayton McLane to Crane is on the agenda at next week’s owners meetings in Milwaukee, but negotiations over the final details likely will continue until then. The Associated Press, citing two people who spoke on condition of anonymity, also reports the sale is on the owners’ agenda and that part of the sale agreement would involve the Astros moving to the AL effective in 2013.

The AL agreement would appear to be the final hurdle for Crane to close a deal he and McLane announced May 16. The Chronicle reported Nov. 4 that the $680 million purchase appeared to be headed for approval Thursday, with the AL negotiations being one of the final sticking points. The Astros have been in the National League since 1962 and the Central Division since 1994.

Spokespersons for Crane and MLB declined comment.

“If it’s on the agenda, then the deal is done,” one person with knowledge of the situation said.
“They usually don’t get this far unless it’s something that’s going to be acted on,” another person with knowledge of the situation said.

Then again, Crane appeared on the verge of taking over control of the team in August when the sale was on the agenda of the owners meetings. MLB subsequently pulled the vote from the agenda five days before a scheduled owners’ vote, citing the need to further vet Crane and his investors.

Two other developments that placed approval on the MLB back burner were the divorce/bankruptcy case of Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and a desire of commissioner Bud Selig and the Players Association to realign into two 15-team leagues.

On top of balancing the divisions into five teams each, realignment likely would bring two additional wild-card entries into the playoffs. One of the 16 NL teams would have to change leagues for that to happen, and MLB found no volunteers. With the Astros up for sale and coming off their worst season in franchise history (56-106), they had the least leverage of anybody in the only six-team division in the majors.

The Astros would move to the AL West, joining the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. One of the perceived benefits to the realignment would be creating an in-state divisional rivalry between the Astros and the Rangers, who have lost the past two World Series.